A Cozy Home : Books, Corners, Animals

Posted on July 22, 2016

Pinterest has a lot to do with my perception of beauty. I hate to admit it, but it’s true. Lifestyle bloggers and magazines have a lot to do with how I perceive home decor. The minimalists have a lot to do with how I currently define clutter. Small home survival tips are often design dramas ! Downsize on repeat, white (Eames) furniture and a house that looks like people tiptoe around to keep it white. Home tours have become synonymous with how prim they look. When we moved to our current home, I wanted to make it the picture perfect home. Overtime, I may have changed. I want a cozy home. I want a lived in home.

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Dream life : We live on a mountain. I should get outside more, be more active.

What makes a home cozy ? Its the white space for some, it provides tranquility. Its old brown furniture for some, modern can be soul less as Yohji Yamamoto once said. For some, its couches, blankets, pillows and throws. “Some couches look cozy, and some are cozy”, says the husband. Some spaces need time, and they automatically become cozy from the familiarity. For a few ( travellers ), a warm clean bed and the promise of rest, makes a home. For me, if you take the people out of the equation, it’s the books, the plants and a warm bed. But mostly, it’s the books. If they vanished today, I would feel uneasy in the space we lived for a year. We have them in every room, in lots of nooks, under the tables, in the bathroom, in the closet, by the bed, … At any given time, we are surrounded by lots of reading material.

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In this picture : Cinco under the dining table ( c/o our landlord ) , me, a whole lot of cookbooks, a whole lot of street style books, books on illustration, shoe trees from his shoes.

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Cinco, our landlord’s cat is always cozying up in the nooks and corners of our home. That is when we realized we have piled up our books into towers in the exact same spots. He is constantly knocking down the piles for the thrill of it and seems to escape unharmed. These are also the corners where I spend most of my time reading/working. I want to remember this home in terms of these prosperous corners and the great books that lived with us.

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In this picture : A few engineering books, a stash of Nat Geo, Porter magazines, a splash of Yohji, a bible for Machine Learning, Dr. Spaneas’s textbook, a treasure chest full of maps from our hikes/travels.

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A place for your keepsakes and treasures is an essential of ours. This wooden chest is the first piece of furniture we purchased and we try to match everything else in our home to it. We lugged it across apartments, cities and states when we moved. When we think of all of our future homes, we do want to continue lugging it along. Everything else can be sold and bought.

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This location is conveniently indoors while being outdoors. Its comfortable enough to get your work done while having beautiful distractions like exotic birds chirping behind or the neighbor’s dog and cat trying to get some attention. Or is it the other way around?

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I will always be thankful for these two. Hombre runs up the stairs every time he sees me. And the cat follows me around all day. They are not our pets. But that doesn’t stop them from going all out with their affection. Cats apparently bring people they like presents. Its a hunting instinct to feed the ones they don’t see hunting. He got a live lizard this week and dropped it my lap. It was horrifying and sweet at the same time. It is a privilege to live with animals. They do make a home.

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A home is not independent of its inhabitants and their messiness. This portable lamp is the most travelled item in the confines of this home. The same can be said of that blanket and the pillow.

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Linen bedding and pajamas are quite the match. We don’t need a dresser but use the books we are currently reading to prop up the height required for the lamp. On my bed side : perfume and lip balm. Our mattress is from Tuft and Needle. Its so damn awesome. Breakfast in bed. Reading in bed. Watching movies in bed. Painting in bed. Rest after a hike and a shower. A warm bed after a long day …. makes a home.

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I think this toilet paper stand from Ikea is genius. It can hold 3 books in the space allotted for extra paper. I adore the Sartorialist’s photo books. I can’t wait to get his new book.

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When friends visit us for the first time, books contribute to as much warmth as the people who inhabit the space – in my opinion. They seem to walk up to them straight, flip through them, talk about the unread and settle in with a book. A kindle is trying to replace the tactile presence of books in my home. We move around so much. Its hard to lug the contents. I don’t want to downsize for the sole reason of space. I constantly re-read the books. And I have formed an attachment with some of my books. Reading a forgotten books feels like visiting an old friend. My home will always be a house of books.

I am trying to make a list of what makes a home cozy. I asked my parents and their answer was ‘our daughters’. I asked my grandmother and she said ‘when you guys visit’. I asked my great grand ma and she said ‘my village’. Please do chime in your thoughts. The people aside, what makes your home cozy ? Or what would you want more of, in your ideal home ?

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31 Comments

You can be sure of one thing: the cat really really likes you. You are the chosen one. Dogs will generally become attached to anyone who feeds them or lives with them. (Even if they get mistreated I hate to say.) Cats though, choose who they like, and have been known to move out of perfectly good homes, because they don’t like the children or the cleaner or the gardener! Hilarious I know, but so true.

I never touched a cat or even liked them till this guy came along. I didn’t know that about cats. Or much for that matter. I did google “discipline cat for bringing live animals” after the he dropped the lizard on me. It was a pleasant surprise to read that they do it out of affection. We try not to get attached to him too much since we know that we will leave this place in a little while.

Cats do seem to have a certain ‘attitude’ right ? They do what they please. Aren’t tamable. Are like puppies that never grew up. I cant wait to get a cat of my own when we stop moving around so much.

Personally I think cats make a home Cosy. They have lovely energy and hunt vermin. I find cats calming to be around. But not to many of them, cats are territorial tend to like their own family and don’t like too many other cats around. No amount of decoration, or expensive wallpaper can replace the good energy of having a happy cat around. Also you cannot discipline a cat,

I am beginning to believe in that too – cats. This fellow makes us laugh and is always up to something. He also made us notice all of the cozy corners in the house. Where ever he lounges, we seem to pick up on the spots too.

I love your treasure chest! And thoughts on cozyness! Having moved for 6 times in the last 3 years, I spent a lot of time on what makes a place cozy. Some aspects I find difficult to influence, for example being an expat PhD student on a scholarship I cannot always invest in items I want, mos of my furniture is hand me downs and since I am not sure if staying inthis country my homes have a temporary wibe. Yet, some observations:

1) One can feel the potential for cozyness of the space immediately when entering. It’s like meeting a person you would want to know better, having an intuition that you could be friends. It’s not about perfection but the combination of attractive aspects and feelig that one can live with inperfections of the space.

2) I carry around in every move some items with personal history, some crafts I made when I was 9 (a sequin butterfly!!!), gifts from my boyfriend, granfathers binoculars)

C) I agree with you about books, I enjoy their presence and how they seeve as “boundary objects” with friends

D) having parties! Very important! Once I hold a mn informal, fun party at my place I feel it’s truly my home. Parties create shared experiences and a narrative to the space

7) i belive true feeling of cozynwss comes from a narrative we live in the place. But eveb if the place is temporaty it is very important to feel cozy and at home. For this I found Ilse Crawford’s books (Sensual Home and Home is where your heart) wonderful resources, she writes about the principles of what feels cozy rather tjan decoration and I love that!

I couldn’t have written this better. Beautifully expressed. Its not about the decoration but the coziness factor.

I do feel that in some homes when I enter. Some homes are cold and meticulous.

I had a mix of furniture I purchased during the sales, some thrifted, some handed down when fellow phd students graduate and some left by old roomies when they leave. It was a true mix of things. I think the ones we purchased are the only ones that survive today. But good memories !

On personal things we keep —> the most random thing I own are the bells of a cow from my grand fathers home that I kept since childhood.

Hahaha I can understand keeping only the pieces you bought yourself after the PhD. As much as I love this phase of life I really look forward to decorating with objects I chose myself. But the current favorite, a mint-beige second-hand oriental rug will stay!

Your grandfather’s cow bells are a treasure! Having an immigrant background objects that root to the history of one’s family are so important… and rare, because of all the moving.

I am a Kindle lover. Sadly, it doesn’t do justice to cook books, fashion books, illustration books and sometimes, text books. I get digital magazine subscriptions and try to buy on kindle as much as possible. But I have my older books from my pre-kindle days. And I seem to buy a lot of second hand 0.01$+2.99$ shipping fashion books on Amazon a lot that cost a lot more on Kindle.

Very few survive the years with me too. Some books like Yohji, Rick Owens, …. are loved. In the part year, engineering text books are the only ones I have purchased new. Everything else, c/o second hand sellers on Amazon.

I love that in most places in the US and Europe, you get 2nd hand books with such ease! Sigh. Major envy. Especially for good design books. In India, most 2nd hand books have textbooks and mills and boons. Double sigh.

And yes, that’s my approach after about 17 years of hoarding. Books, even good ones should come and then they must leave..to make way for others to now enter. My floors were literally creaking under the weight of our books.

True that. I could get International editions in India but it’s such a select few books that even do a version.

Also, I have been finding so much second hand on ebay and the likes. I read a blogger from a tiny European country who has to sift through piles and piles of garbage in flea markets to find anything usable. We forget the privileges our locations offer us and take it for granted.

Lovely post Archana! It shows love for your homes-past,recent and future!
I love scandinavian sense for house decor,minimalistic,white and wood.
But my home is quite different- it is very important for me to be cosy,to be loved(and this is crucial-when people love their home and care about it-it shows-and you step in and feel the love and wellcome!)
Books,books,books all around! In the first place!
I love kindle books and read a lot on my tablet but books in croatian I stil buy in real.
I have downsized my books a couple of times,some for war destroyed libraries,some to charities ,some to my friends who like to read and a lot of them to my fathers old house
I love cats and dogs and have a couple of them before but the pain when I lost them was too overwhelming,so I don’t have one now
I love flowers too,even in hotel rooms when travelling. Not a lot but still
I love your treasure chest!
Dottoressa

Ah- yes the pain of loosing a cat and dog is overwhelming. 😟 But then getting a rescue cat or a kitten is just so amazing. They never replaced my older ones but love just sort of expands… I like real plants in a house too. They are wonderful air purifiers.

Yes 😦
I had a collie and lost him after an operation 25 years ago
My last cat was a rescue cat, he passed away a couple of years ago. Completely different kind of animal friends,but I loved both of them very much and they were indeed members of family
Home with the loved pet is a happy home full of unconditional love!

Thank you. And it one of those homes we see on mountain tops. The landlord and landlady are an elderly retired couple. They were subletting their out-house and we jumped on the opportunity. Its smaller than any apartment we lived in, but its okay. The pros make up for the cons. We quite like it here too.

Oh, so so lovely! looks a bit like my dream home:) the nature surrounding it , all the sounds you described…the light, the linen bedding, the wooden kitchen utensils…oh, I wish my home looked like that. And Sartorialist in the toiled- you killed me here:)

Hey Archana, I disagree on the Sartorialist’s not liking it:) I would think he would like the fact that his book can start a conversation:) Although it depends whether he has a sense of humour;) I remember very first time when I came across books in the toilet- it was on my very first journey to France, I was sixteen and I was becoming a francophile and it was a shock to see the books in a toilet but then it become apparent it was a part of high French culture and the nonchalance 🙂

You are welcome:) And the truth about French is that there is a lot of them filling somewhat stereotypical image of sophisticated sort of people:) However on my second (?) visit to the French country I discovered in horror that bad taste exists even there (I still remember the moment it happened, while standing in a bus stop in some small town and looking at the passers by:)

You know what, I was expecting Europe to be all tweed and trousers. And as I travelled small towns, I was really confused as to what to expect. Grandpas in overcoats and tweens with blue hair – we have seen it all ! Agree !

Beautiful home Archana! Your home is really clutter-free. Personally, I don’t think I can do this. Art works and prints and miniatures / knick knacks that we collected through our travels are always there in our drawing room. I don’t think we have clutter. But, we have a few things that we dont really need, but love to have. Having said that, I think it is wonderful that you maintain a plastic free kitchen and such a edited home. I love that treasure chest too!

All the moving and not having furniture did the trick. We currently have empty walls to offset the tiny-ness of the space. We do have all of us knick knacks from our old place in the treasure chest waiting for the day we ‘settle down’ someplace. We know our next place will be small too. And books are everywhere. It looks full enough for now.

Plastic free was quite the challenge. You cant let wooden spoons soak in the sink. They cant go into a dishwasher ( which we dont have in this apartment ).The boards need some tending. Husband protested initially. We now got used to it. Tiny space full of plastic kills the mood a little.

I know what you mean about moving. I think we moved 4 or 5 cities in the last 3 years. It is really hard. We are finally looking buy a home and settle down, maybe next year. A big reason for wanting to buy a home is so that we can have a pet! (I know! That may make us seem naive). But a pet is something that would give both of us a lot joy. Hopefully 2017 will the be the year!